Automatic billing machine for liquid dispensers



AUTOMATIC BILLING MACHINE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS Filed June 26, 1942 Feb.6, 1951 c. s. HAZARD ET 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 uvvszvroxs tfiar/es .5. HazardBY Johnson .Slajamaw HTTOANE) Feb. 6, 1951 c. s. HAZARD ETAL 2,540,617

AUTOMATIC BILLING MACHINE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS Filed June 26, 1942 5Sheets-Sheet 2 w uvmvrbxs (harks S. ljazard BY John on J/apwaw .4 TTORNEYS AUTOMATIC BILLING MACHINE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS,

Filed June 26, 1942 Feb. 6, 1951 c. s. HAZARD ETAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb.6, 1951 c. s. HAZARD ETAL 2,540,617

AUTOMATIC BILLING MACHINE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS Filed June 26, 1942 5Sheets-Sheet 4 nvvmroxs Char/(s .S'. ffazara y W IITTORN Feb. 6, 1951 c.s. HAZARD ETAL 2,540,617

AUTOMATIC BILLING MACHINE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS Filed June 26, 1942 5Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR; C'karles 6. Hazard 11 TTORNE) Patented Feb.6, 1951 AUTOMATIC BILLING MACHINE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS Charles 8.Hazard. Andover, N. J., and Johnson Shipman, Flushing, N. Y., assign orsto Neptune Meter Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application June26, 1942. Serial No. 448,644

Claims- (Cl- 222-) This invention relates to dispensing apparatus I andmore particularly to means for automatically recording and billingamounts dispensed at a plurality oi loading stations.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide one or more registersor billing machines to be located at a central point and operable tocontrol or selectively control and register the dispensing of materialat one or a plurality 01' load ing stations which may be remotelylocated relative to the billing machines.

Another object 01 this invention is to provide a control for measuringdevices so that delivery in unit measurements is assured regardless ofwhen during a unit measurement discontinuance of delivery is initiated.

Still another object 0'! this invention is to provide a control for anauto-stop register operable to register unit measurements at a timeinterval prior to the completion of the unit measurements and when thelast unit of a predetermined amount has been registered to effectdiscontinuance of delivery at substantially the completion oi the lastunit of measurement.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an auto-stopcontrol for dispensing systems wherein the rate of delivery is firstreduced near the end of a predetermined dispensing operation and thenthe reduced operation cut oil at the completion of the operation.

A further important object of the invention is to provide an electricalsystem for controlling the dispensing of a material through a measuringdevice and the registation on a register of the amount so dispensed, theregister being remotely located with respect to the meter.

Another object of the invention is to provide in such an electricalsystem for operation of the register concomitantly with operation 01'the meter but also to secure the precise cut of! of delivery of materialbeing dispensed upon completion of the last unit of measurement.

The foregoing and other objects of this invention are accomplished byproviding one or more billing machines at a central point which areselectively'connectible to any one of a plurality of measuring deviceswhich may be remotely located with respect to such central point. Eachbilling machine comprises a presettable auto-stop register and printingmechanism oper- 2 able at the end oi a predetermined operation to issuea ticket with the amount dispensed indicated thereon. Ii desired, themachine may include a visual register to indicate the amounts beingdelivered. For automatic operation a motor may be provided to reset theprinting elements and return the visual register to zero. For remotecontrol the billing machine may have a power drive'adapted to becontrolled by the measuring device to which the machine is connected.

The selective feature of the invention comprises the provision of aplurality of manually actuatable elements or buttons for each billingmachine. Each button has a plurality of contacts which, when closed,electrically connect the machine to a measuring device which correspondsto the button actuated. The buttons oi. each machine are provided withinterlocking means whereby only one button of a machine can be actuatedat a time. Interlocking means are also provided between thecorresponding buttons oi'the billing machines where more than onemachine is provided so that the same measuring device cannot beconnected to more than one billin machine at a time. When a selectivebutton is pressed, it eilects preparatory conditioning oi the billingmachine, that is to say,

it sets parts in motions to reset the register and printing elements ofthe machine.

An suitable measuring devices may be used in the system depending uponthe nature and form of the material that is to be dispensed or otherwisemeasured and handled. Where the material to be handled is in fluid form,each measuring device may comprise a suitable fluid meter and one ormore delivery controlling elements such as valves. More than one valvemay be used where reduced flow is desired prior to the finalcut-ofloperation. A cam or other suitable 3 embodiment includes a synchronizingcircuit connected in parallel with a main control circuit, thesynchronizing circuit being deenergized momentarily at the end of eachunit or cyclic operation 01' the meter while the main circuit is undercontrol of the auto-stop portion of the machine. A manually controlledswitch may also be provided in the main circuit so that the driver oithe vehicle receiving the commodity dispensed or an attendant mayinitiate discontinuance of delivery.

A time diflerential isprovided between the register driving operation ofthe machine and the cyclic deenergization of the synchronizing circuit.

initiate discontinuance of the delivery prior to the completion of thelast unit o1 measurement. The

- cyclic deenergization of the synchronizing circuit lags behind themachine registration so that when the machine deenergizes the maincontrol circuit to the valve. the valve will not close immediately butwill remain open until the synchronizing circuit is dcenergized by themeter at'the completion of unit measurement.

This synchronizing unit measurement of the material dispensed, wherebycut-oil can only be eflected at the completion of a unit measurement, isimportant for accurate recording and delivery. Where the unitmeasurement of systems heretoiore provided is registered after actualmeasurement and therefore prior to a machine operation eilectingdiscontinuance of the delivery, the resulting lag in the cut-oiloperation introduces error. Attempts have been made to overcome thiserror by adjusting the tripping operation of the register ahead of thecompletion of the last unit of measurement. Such adjustment, however, isvery difllcult. to achieve accurately on existing machines and is notreliable because the required adjustment would have to be varied inaccordance with the rate or delivery. For a better understanding oi! theinvention, reference may be had to the following detailed descriptionwhich is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. l is a diagrammatica1 illustration of a dispensing system accordingto this invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a portion of the system showing asimplified connection betweena fluid meter and an auto-stop register;

Figs. 3 and, 3A are schematical views which when combined show acomplete billing machine coupled with a dispensing station together witha part of the selecting mechanism of a second billing machine toindicate the interlocking controls between a plurality of such machines;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the upper control switchshown in Fig. 3 and illustrating a position oi. the parts thereof priorto the initiation oi a dispensing operation;

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the upper and lower controlswitches of Fig. 3 indicating the positioning of the parts thereof aftera dispensing operation has been initiated; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the lower control switch01' Figs; 3 and 5, showing theparts thereof in the position to whichthey are moved by the auto-stop register at the end of a predetermineddispensin operation.

Fig. 7 shows in longitudinal section the construction of one embodimentof the device for locking the auto-stop register.

Referring to Figs. 1, 3 and 3A of the drawings. two billing machines Aand B are shown associated with four dispensing or loading stations 4#l, #2, #3 and #4 01' the type employed in dis tributing gasoline andother liquid petroleui products. Each billing machine is provided wit anauto-stop register I II, a visual register I2. series or printing wheelsIt and associated print ing and controlling mtchanisms. Selecting appsratus is also provided for each machine and in cludes a set of buttonsII, one for each of th dispensing or loading stations of the system.

As shown in Fig. 1, each billing machineoi' th system thereinillustrated has four buttons to gether with lamps l8 suitably numberedor col ored to represent the Particular loading statiol with which thebutton adjacent thereto is asso ciated. When one of the buttonsis'pressed, th adjacent lamp is illuminated as soon as the con nectionto the corresponding station is eilecta and remains illuminated untilthe dispensing op eration iscompleted.

As described more fully hereinafter, the actua tion 01' one of thebuttons ll will connect thl billing machine thereof through electriccircuit contained in the cable I 8 to the loading statiol whichcorresponds to the button pressed. F0:

example, should button #I be pressed on ma chine A, the machine A willbe connected to th loading station #1 and the liquid or other materialdispensed at station 1 will be registered to: recording and billingpurposes onthe machini A. When one of the buttons, such as the butter #Ihas been pressed on machine A, locking mean: hereinafter describedinterlock the buttons am prevent other buttons on the machine A Ironbeing pressed. Interlocking circuits indicated b: the cable l9 areprovided between the severa billing machines of the system so that when2 button has been pressed on one machine, the pressing of or attempts topress the corresponding buttons on other billing machines of the systemwill be ineffective. Thus, only one billing machine can be connected toa given loading station at one time. Any billing machine, however, whichis not already connected to some loading station, may be selected forconnection to any loading station that is not at the time connected to abilling machine.

Referring now to Fig. 2 of the drawings, the driving and controllingrelationship between the auto-stop register ill of a billing machine anda measuring device at a loading station will be described to betteremphasize several of the novel features of the invention.

The auto-stop register l0 which is shown in more detail in Fig. 3,comprises a series of number wheels in which the units wheel 20 hasassociated therewith a cam 2|, the tens wheel has a cam 22, the hundredswheel has a cam 23 and the thousands wheel has a cam 24. It will beunderstood, of course, that any suitable transfer mechanism, such as theusual Geneva gearin partially indicated at 25, may be provided betweenadjacent number, wheels so that a complete rotation of the number wheelof lower order will eifect an advance movement of one step to the nextadjacent number wheel of higher order. The number wheels of theauto-stop register may be preset by any suitable known mechanism, thepresetting being made manually by a handle 25 and shaft 28. Thus preset,the number wheels of the register in indicate the amount desired for adispensing operation.

When the auto-stop register is preset to a desired number, the cams 2i,and, if the amount dislodge from the recesses 21 thereof the followersll. 82. 33 and ll. In Fig. 2 the auto-stop registerisshowninzeropositionwithall ofthc followers received in the recesses 21 or the cams. In Fig.3 the auto-stop register is shown preset with the units wheel displayingthe number 5 and the higher order wheels stilFat zero positions. Thefollower Si is prevented from entering the recess 21 of the units wheeluntil after the followers carried upon the rack 54 pivoted at 53 haveentered the recesses of the cams 21, 23 and N. This restriction upon thefollower Si is accomplished by an extension bar 43 of the rack I4 whichoverlies the arm Iii which supports the follower Ii.

The loading station may comprise any suitable source of supply, such asa pipe 36. as in the case of a liquid dispensing system, and a suitablemeasuring device, such as a meter II. As shown in Fig. 3a,- a deliverypipe 38 is connected to the discharge side of the meter 38 and isprovided with a main valve 4i! and a bypass connection ll having anauxiliary valve 41.

While two valves are shown in the present illustration, it will beunderstood that one valve only may be used. The purpose oi the twovalves in the system illustrated is to'reduce the flow of liquid nearthe end of a predetermined dispensing operation and then to cut oil thereduced flow at precisely the end of the last unit or measurement.

This control of the valves is performed by electrical circuitsassociated with the followers of the auto-stop register and asynchronizing circuit controlled by the meter. The'main valve 40 hasassociated therewith an electro-magnetic coil 45 f and the auxiliaryvalve 42 has an electro-mag- This will reduce the flow through the meterll. the flow thereafter being-under control of the auxiliary, valve 42.When the units wheel 20 reaches zero the follower II will move into therecess I] of the cam 2| and the resulting movement of the arm II willcause a separation of the contacts ll. Since contacts "in the circuit IIare connected in series with the manual valve control switch 51, wire 49from the source of current ill and the coil 46', the opening or thecontacts is would normally deenergize the coil II and close theauxiliary valve 42. The ilnal closing of the valve 42, however, iscontrolled in cooperation with the circuit ill by a synchronizingcircuit I to be hereinafter described.

The driving relation between the meter it and the auto-stop register Inis electrical so that the auto-stop register may be located at a centraloillce remote from the meter. This remote location of the two parts isin accordance with the dispensing system illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein'fltq; The: relay 61 has a movable contact 68 which isnormally closedwith a stationary contact 89.

"i-the'movable contact 88 being connected to; the

contained within the valves, Fig. 3A, or provided by compression springsand IN bearing against abutments and against the upper ends of the valvestems extended through the coils 45, ll, Fig. 2, to effect opening ofthe valves, 42. Upon deenergization of the coils 45, 46 the,re-'spective valves close under the action of the bias mean. The coil 45 isconnected by a circuit ll controlled by the follower of the units wheel1.. A single manually actuatable member I1 is provided for both of theswitches 41 and 51 so that when it is desirable to start delivery, bothof the valves and 42 will be opened simultaneously.

When the cams 22, 23 and 24 of the number wheels of order higher thanthe units wheel 20 have been returned to zero in response to initiationof a dispensing operation the followers 32, u and II will move into therecesses of the cams and cause the follower rack 54 to rotate clockwiseabout the shaft 53 to the position shown, whereby-the arm 55 opens thecontacts ll. Assuming that the manually actuatable switches 41 and l areheld closed, either manually or by any. suitable latch, the opening ofthe contacts 48 will deenergize the coil to close the main valve 40.

Mire-13. The fixed contact 89 is connected by wire is to a. winding illof a relay ll adapted to knowntype of clutch II, which controls i thedrive between the motor 14 and the shaft 15.

carried by theshaft l5 and a worm gear 11 carby asleeve," surroundingshaft 28, trans- I museum movement from the shaft I5 to the units .wheelIii of the register. The motor 14 operates continuously after the systemis connected-for. operation, the motor 14 being connected to the sourceof electric current ill by wire ,1! and to the ground at ilil.

If desired, a totalizer 82, such as shown in Fig. 3A, may be geared tothe meter drive so that the person receiving the liquid delivered duringa dispensing operation can observe at the. loading station the amountdispensed.

The remote drive from the meter 38 to the register iii is accomplishedby the closing of the contacts 85 by the cam ill once for each unit ofmeasurement by the meter 38. This unit measurement may be of any desiredquantity, such as a gallon or other suitable amount. When the contacts55 are closed current is fed through the contacts from the source 50through the coil 66 and to ground. Simultaneously, current is fedthrough the contacts 68, 69 to the coil Ill of the relay H. The timedelay characteristics of the relay Bl are such as to permit passage 01'current through the contacts 88, 69 for a timeinterval sufllcient onlyto actuate the clutch controlled by relay H to move the lever 350 of theclutch against the bias of spring 35L This permits transmission throughthe clutch 12 of a driving movement from the motor 14 to the units wheel20 sufiicient only to advance the unit wheel one unit indication.The'time delay relay. 61, thereof clutch I2 and thereby insures thetransmission of unit measurements even though the cam t4shouldcometorestinapositionclosingthe contact .5.

The registering movement of. the auto-stop register is mponsive to. themeter operation to control the actuation of the valves 40 and 42 todiscontinue delivery at the end of a predetermined dispensing operation.In order to insure the cutting off of the flow at the-end of aunit ofmeasurement, however, the synchronizing circuit ii is arranged tocontrol Jointly with the register the closing of the valve 42. This unitmeasurement control feature of the synchronizing circuit is accomplishedby providing a second cam 04 on the shaft 02 to control a pair ofcontacts 05. These contacts are connected in the circuit which isconnected at one end to the source of current 50 and at the other end tothe coil 40 of the valve 42. The cams 84 and 04 are disposed one aheadof the other so that the cam 64 is adapted to close the contact 65 priorto the opening by'the cam 04 of the normally closed contacts 05. Thusthe registering of each unit of measurement will be effected prior tothe completion of the actual measurement of the unit.

When the last unit measurement for a predetermined quantity isregistered on the units wheel 20, the main valve 40 being previouslyclosed by opening of contacts 43, the follower 3| will move into therecess of the cam 2I, thereby opening the contacts 50 to deenergize thecircuit leading to the coil 46 of the valve 42 prior to the actualcompletion of the measurement of the last unit. The coil 40, however, isnot dee'nergized by the opening of the contacts 53 but is maintainedenergized by the normally closed contacts 05 until the meter hascompleted the unit measurement and brought the lobe 31 'of the cam 04into engagement with one of the contacts 05 and breaks the circuit. Theopening of these contacts deenergizes the coil 40 and closes the valve42 exactly at the completion of the last unit of measurement, thusstopping the meter 30 and stopping cam 34 in position tovhold thecontacts 35 apart to maintain valve 42 in closed position;

From the foregoing it will be seen that the system registers each unitof measurement while the unit of material is actually being measured.When the register reaches registration of a predetermined quantity, itoperates to initiate stoppage of the system by deenergizing first thecircuit 4I and then the circuit 5I. The circuit 5i being in parallelwith the synchronizin circuit SI leaves the meter in control of thevalve 42, the closing of which is-thereby effected by the direct actionof the meter. The register I0, having already completed its operation,is without further effect and the meter effects shuttin of the valveprecisely upon completion of the last unit measured by the meter.

This unit measurement feature of the invention is Important in theaccurate registration and control of the quantities dispensed. Whilethev circuits M and 5I can be manually opened by releasing the switches41 and 51 at any point in a dispensing operation, the meter will.continue to operates to complete the unit measurement commencedthereby.

Referring back to Figs. 1, 3 and 3A, the autostop register anddispensing unit of the system described in connection with thesimplified showing inFig. 2 form parts of the larger system and whereidentical the parts are referred to by the same reference characters.

In l ig. 3 the drive'shaft I5 from the motor 1 is shown connected to asecond drive shaft i by gears 0| and 32. The shaft carries worm 33, 34and 05 to drive the auto-stop register II the visual register I2 and theprinting wheel I4 respectively. The auto-stop register Ill 1 shown inmore detail in Fig. 3 than in Fig. '2 an the driving sleeve 13 for theunits wheel gear in in mesh with the driving wbrm as. Th shaft 23 islikewise provided with a handle 2 which may be manually actuated in aknow: manner to preset the numeral wheels of the reg I ister. Theshaft20, however, is now shown pro vided with an electrical locking means I00whicl when energized is' adapted to lock the shaft 2 so that the settingof the numeral wheels cannc be changed once the lock I00 is energized.lock I00 may comprise any suitable electro-mag netic lockingarrangements, one form of this de vice being more particularly describedin con nection with Fig. 7.

The visual register l2 is provided so'that th amounts dispensed during adispensing operatic! can be readily determined. The printing wheel I4are driven in any suitable manner in unisoi with the correspondingwheels of the visual reg vister I 2. For purposes of illustration thedrivi to the visual register. I2 and the printing wheel I4 is showntransmitted from gears IOI and I01 through suitable friction clutchesI03 and I04 t1 the units wheelsdriving sleeves I05 and I00 respectively.v The printing mechanism of the billing machini includes in addition tothe printing wheels I4, 1

printing hammer H0 and paper guiding frame:

II2 disposed between the hammer and the print ing wheels.' Suitablemeans are provided to support a roll of paper I I5 which is fed betweenroll: H6 and IIBtothe frames II2.

The operationof the printing hammer IIO, the resetting of the printingwheels and the feeding vof the paper I I5 are effected by a motor I20.The motor I20 has a drive shaft I2I which carries a mutilated gear I22,thefteeth of which are adapted to mesh in successive order with a pairoi gears I24 and I25. The gear I24 is carried by a shaft I26 having acam I28. The hammer H0 is provided with an arm I30 having a roller I32engageable by the cam I28 to raise the hammer IIO to cocked position andto release it at a proper time in the operation of the machine a toeffect the printing of a ticket.

The shaft I26 is also provided with a mutilated cocking movement of thehammer.

rotate the paper feeding roll IIO during the The operative relationshipof the printing mechanism will be described hereinafter in connectionwith the operation of the billing machine.

The gear I 25 which is driven by one part of the rotation of the gearI22 is rotatably carried on a shaft I01 which extends through the sleeveI05 where, by known wheel pick-up means, such as that shown in theUnited States Patent No. 2,126,256 to Charles S. Hazard and William L.Marden, rotation of the shaft I01 is adapted to reset to zero the numberwheels of the visual regist'er I2. The number wheels of the register I2,and also the printing wheels I4, are,- of course, suitably connected forcounting operation by known transfer mechanism, such as described in.pinion HI and a gear I42 carried ona shaft I03 auger? wire I to thelock Whenever the selecting mechanism is acttiated the lock III isenergized and prevents change in the presetting of the register.

Each button is provided with a roller I80 disposed'between twocontrolling surfaces, the roller Ill of the button #I being showndisposed between the surface of a stationary frame element Io'Iand theinclined surface of a sector I03 pivoted at I! I. A series of suchsectors are provided, one adiacent the other, depending upon thenumberof buttons, the lowermost button bem be hereinafter described anda second consg tact switch I. The contact swltcnJw comprises twostationary contacts It! and in and a movable contact Isl carried by aresilient leaf or stem I, which is engageaole by two con-p trol elementsIt] and iii. The control elements extend through opposite walls of theswitch box. the element Isl being movabieby the actuating arm I52 of theselecting mechanism and the element I" being under control of a cam I60.

The second contact switch I30 comprises a stationary contact IBI and amovable contact I02 carried by a resilient leaf or stem I62a and a pairof actuating elements I03 and I. The element I is engageable by a rodI65 suitably log disposed between one of the sectors and a frame elementsimilarly as in the case of button #I. The 'sectors are restricted inmovement by theframe. members, so that only one roller I00 is movable toblltton'actuated position at a time. This arrangement provides aninterlock so that the billing machine can only be connected to oneloading station at-a time.

To maintain the button in the inner or actuated position once it ispressed, the element Ill is provided with a shoulder I00 engageable by aadjacent the pawl, the coil being energized upon mounted in a frameelement I of the machine 'and'engaged at the other end thereof by a camis moved in one or another direction, as the case may be, in relation tothe movable contact I82. Before tracing the wiring connections of theswitches I30 and I30, it is believed desirable next to describe theselective mechanism and the connected relationship of the wiring withrespect to one of the loading stations.

In Fig. 3a the selective mechanism for the bill- 1118 machine A is shownassociated with a. part of the selecting mechanism of the billingmachine B to illustrate the interlocking connection therebetween and toone of the loading stations. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3a, the selectingmechanism of the billing machine A comprises four buttons I, 2, 3 and 4.The button I comprises an elongated element I00 having a plurality ofcontacts which are'associated with a corresponding number of stationarycontacts. The inner ends of the elements I00 of the buttons I to 0 areadapted to engage an actuating member I02 suitably Journaled in frameelements I83. The member I02 has on the other end thereof the actuatingarm III, and as shown in Fig. 3 the arm I32 is adapted to engage theswitch element I". The member I02 is provided with a spring I34 whichreturns the member and the actuated button to inactive position when thebutton is released.

Supported on the member I32 is a' contact III adapted when the memberIII is actuated by a button a) close with a contact III to complete acircuit for the lock I00 on the auto-stop register I3. through wires2I2, 2I3, I02, contacts Ill, Ill and the wiring connections of one ofthe buttons will sumce for the other buttons. Button #I is provided witha series of contacts movable therewith to control the opening andclosing of a number of circuits. The contacts are identified in Fig. 3aas 200, 20I, 202, 203, 204, 205 and 200. The corresponding contacts of#I button of the machine B are identified as 300 through 306. The

source of power to these contacts is controlled by two sets of contactsH0 and 2I I controlled by the auto-stop register I0 and interlockingcircuits connecting contacts on the corresponding buttons of the billingmachines of the system.

The contacts 2 I0 are associated with I the follower rack 54 and areclosed when the followers 32, 33, 34 thereof are received in therecesses 21 of the cams 22, 23, 24 associated with the tens, hundredsand thousands numeral wheels. The contacts 2| I are controlled by thebell crank arm I15 of the follower 3| associated with the units wheelmined amount for which it has been set. The

The circuit may be traced from source I0 contacts 2 remain closed duringthe last ten units of registration and areopened when the units wheelhas reached zero position.

Following the circuit through the contacts 2I0 from the source ofelectric current 50, the current is supplied through wire 2I2, contact2I0, wires 2 and 2I5 and normally closed contacts 308 of thecorresponding button #I of machine B. This 'is one portion of theinterlocking connection between the corresponding buttons of the billingmachines and it extends from the wire 2i! and the contacts 305 through awire 301 to one of the contacts 200. The other of the contacts 200 isvconnected by a wire 2I0 to the manually actuatable switch 41 and thenceto the coil 45 of themain valve 40.- Thus, in order for the actuatedbutton #I to complete a circuit from the source able contact I55 01' theswitch I50 through wires 2I2 and 2I8. Assuming that the auto-stopregister I has just been preset so that the units wheel 20 is in thenumerical position shown in Fig. 3,

the contacts 2I'I will be closed. After a button has been pressed andthe motor I20 hasoperated to reset the register I2 and the printingwheels I4, an operation which is performed quickly and while the buttonis manually pressed, the switch I50 will assume the position indicatedin Fig. 5. The movable contact I55 will in this position be closed withstationary contact I54 and the current from the source 50 hereinbeioretraced to the contact I55 will pass through the contact .I 54 and wire220 to the contacts 2i I, thencethrough wires 22I and 222 to thecontacts 305 of the machine B. Since the contacts 305 are closed whenthe button #I of machine B is in its inactive position, the circuitcontinues through wire 308 to contacts 20I,202,203 and 204.

From the foregoing it will be seen that in order for the contacts 200through 204 01 machine A to complete circuits to #I loading station, thebutton #I of the machine B must be in its inactive position. Likewise,in order for button #I of machine B to complete circuit to #I loadingstation, the button #I of machine A must be in its inactive position.The interlocking control of the button #I of machine B by button #I ofmachine A is effected by the contacts 205 and 205. From the wire 2, awire 224 connects one of the contacts 205 and the other contactthere- Iof is connected by wire 225 to the contacts 300 of the machine B. Thisinterconnection controls the circuit connection of contacts 300 throughwire SIB to wire 2; and the manual switch 41 in control of the valve 40.From the wire 22l, a

wire 225 is connected to the contacts 200 which in turn are connectedthrough wire 221 to the series of contacts 3III through 304. Thiscompletes the interconnection between two corresponding buttons of thetwo machines. The wires 2I4 and 22I are, of course, connected to thecorresponding switch contacts of the auto-stop register of the machineB. The interconnection between corresponding buttons #I of the twomachines are the same for the other corresponding buttons of the twomachines. Where more than two machines are provided each button of amachine controls the corresponding buttons of the other machines.

Having traced out the control of contacts 200 and 300 to the main valve40, the other control contacts of buttons #I of machines 2A and B willnow be traced. From contacts I a wire 23l is connected to the manualcontrol switch 51 which controls the coil oi! the auxiliary valve 42.The corresponding contacts "I or machine B are likewise connected by awire I which is connected to the wire 23! for control of the auxiliaryvalve 42. Contacts 202 are connected by a wire 232 to lamp I5 adjacent#I button and to a lamp 240 associated with the meter 38 so as toindicate at the machine which station is connected there- 12 a tweencontacts 552 and a lamp IIB on machine 3 and a lamp 2 at the loadingstation. Contacts 205 are connected by a wire 2I8-to the motor I4 of themachine A. The motor as hereinbeiore described in connection with thesimplified showing 0! Fig. 2 is energized continuously during adispensing operation under control of the machine A. Likewise, thecontacts 303 of the machine B are connected by a circuit 383 to thedriving motor oi the machine B. Contacts 204 are connected by a wire 234to contacts 285 under control of a cam 54:: driven by the meter 38.,From the'contacts 235 a circuit 238 leads to the time synchronizingcircuit which is controlled by the;

meter of the loading station. In Fig. 3a the meter 38 is shown witha cam84 which controls the contacts oi the synchronizing circuit as describedin connection with Fig. 2. The contact engaging re- 7 lation of the cams54a and 84 is staggered so that when a new unit measurement is commencedby the meter 30, the register controlling cam 54a is adapted to closethe relay circuit prior to the completion of the unit measurement whilethe 'cam 84 is adapted to open the synchronizing circuit atsubstantially the termination of the unit measurement. As previouslydescribed, this relationship enables the auto-stop register to registereach unit of measurement prior to the completion thereof and when itregisters the last unit measurement 01 a predetermined amount for whichthemachine has been set, assuming that valve 40 is now closed, it opensthe circuit 23L With the circuit 25I deenergized the valve 42 is thenentirely under the control of the synchronizing circuit 5|. Thus, whenthe synchronizing circuit is opened by the cam 84 the dispensingoperation is completed at precisely the termination of the last unit ofmeasurement.

Summarizing the operation of the system. it will be assumed that button#I of machine A has Justbeen pressed to its inner position therebyselectively connecting the machine A to the meter 38 of station I. Alsoassume that the auto-stop register I0 has been preset to dispense fiveunits or gallons of liquid and that the register I 2 and the printingwheels I4 indicate 2500 units from the previous operation. Underthis-setting oi the auto-stop register I0, it will be noted thatthecontacts 2I I are closed while the contacts 2 I0 remain open. If alarger number, such as 10, 100 or 1,000 gallons were to be dispensed,the register would then be preset to indicate the appropriate amount andboth sets of contacts 2I0 and 2 would be in closed position since bothsets of I01- lowers would then be in their outer positions. The initialactuation of the button actuated member I82 closes contacts IOI, I85 tolock the auto-stop setting as previously described.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 3a, the actuating arm I52 has responded to thepressing of button #I to move the element I51 against the stem I55.Since the element I58 is also urged against the stem I55, the stem isdistorted so that contact I55 is moved out of engagement with stationarycontact I54 (Fig. 4) to engagement with contact I 53 (Fig. 3). In thisposition of the switch I50,

a circuit is completed to the motor I20 from the source of power IIthrough wires III and III, contacts III. III and wire III to the motorIII and thence to ground at III. The motor III is and drives the cam IIIuntil it moves to the position shown in Fig. 5 whereupon the element IIIis released and the stem III permitted to straighten thereby disengagingcontact III and reengaging'contact III. The surface of thecamlIIisshapedtomaintainthisswitching condition for a length of time toeffect a motor driving movement of substantially 180.

This rotation of the motor shaft III drives the mutilated gear IIIthrough 180 from the positlon shown in Fig. I, that is, a suillcientamount to reset the register II and the printing wheels II. The transferof resetting movement to the visual register II is eil'ected duringengagement the gear III with the gear III to effect rotation oi theshaft III. The transfer of resetting movement to the printing wheels IIis eifected from shaft III through gears III, III and III to the shaftIII. Thepick-up connections between the shafts III and III and thenumber wheels thereon for resetting these numeral wheels to zero are ofknown construction, such as is shown in the United States Patent2,126,256, August 9, 1088, to Charles 8. Hazard and William L. Marden.

Upon completion of the resetting movement of the motor III, the cams IIIand III assume the position shown in Fig. 5. The cam III moves the rodIII downwardly urging the element III against the movable contact III ofthe switch III to insure the disengagement oi the contacts III, III. Theposition of the movable contact III in engagement with the stationarycontact III (Fig. conditions the system for registering operation withthe loading station corresponding to the button which has been pressed.The button is held in pressed position by the electro-magnet III'whichis energized by the circuit traceable from the source of power IIthrough wires III, III and III, electro-magnetIII, wires III and III,motor III and ground III. The resistance When, however, the motor III isenergized by either of the circuits including the switch contacts III,III (Fig. 3), contacts III, III or manual switch III, the circuit to theelectro-magnet III is in effect shorted, resultin in a suflicientdecrease in current for the sprin to overcome the eflect of theelectro-magnet and release the button.

The manual switch III interposed between wires III-and III enables anattendant to print a ticket should an amount less than that for whichthe machine is set be desired after an operation has once been started.For example, should the driver decide to take a smaller amount thanfirst requested, he may stop delivery by opening switches I1 and II. Theclosing of valves II and II, however, will not stop delivery at afraction of a unit, the delivery continuing under control of thesynchronizing circuit II until the unit of .tion' shown in Fig. 3a. thecontacts III through III are closed and the contacts III and III areopen. TheclosedcontaotsoonnectmachineAto loading station #I and the twoopen contacts prevent machine B from being connected to the same loadingstation. Since the auto-stop register is set for five units. thecontacts III are open so that no current will flow through contacts IIIto the valve controlling coil II when the switches I1 and II are closed.Current, however, will flow to contacts III, III, III and III since thecontacts III, III (Fig. 5), contacts III (register II) and contacts IIIare closed. The circuit of contact III is thereby completed down to themanual switch II; the circuit of the contact III is completed throughwire III to the lamps II and III which are thereby illuminated; thecircuit of contacts III is completed through wire III to the drivingmotor II of the billing machine; and the circuit of contacts III iscompleted through wire III to the cam controlled contactsIII.

When the driver is ready to accept delivery, he may do so by actuatingthe switch button Il thereby completing the circuit through contacts IIto the electro-magnetically controlled valve II which is thereuponopened allowing liquid to flow through the meter II. The cam IIa closesthe contacts III once during each unit measurement to transmit anelectrical current through the wire III to the relays I1 and II toactuate the clutch II. As previously described, each actuation of theclutch II efiects a driving movement to the shaft I5 suflicient to movethe number wheels of the auto-stop register II, the visual register IIand the printing wheels II one unit registration. When the auto-stopregister has been driven sufllciently to return the units wheel II fromthe 5th position to zero, thereby indicating a registration of the flveunits of liquid, for which the machine was preset, the follower II isreceived in the recess 21 of the units wheel cam II and the contacts IIIopened and the contacts III closed. The opening of contacts IIIdeenergizes the circuit leading to the contacts III through III. Thisdeenergizes the circuit to the manual switch 51, the circuit to thelamps II and III, the circuit to the motor II, and the circuit to thecontacts III. No further registration for this operation is now possibleon the billing machine. The valve II, however, is not immediately closedsince the synchronizing circuit II is still closed and until the meterhas moved to a position to open the contacts II, flow will continue.When the meter moves to the position where the last unit of measurementis complete, the contacts II will be opened by the cam II and the coilII will be deenergized to close the valve II.

The closing of the contacts III and contacts III, I II by movement ofthe follower II completes a circuit from the source of power II throughwires III, III and III, contacts III, wire III, contacts III, III, andwire III to the motor III. The motor is thereupon energized for apartial rotation to drive the mutilated gear III through an arc of fromthe position to which it'was moved durin the resettin operation of motorIII, thus returning the gear III to the position shown in Fig. 3. Thegear III drives the gear III during this return movement to drive shaftIII which effects, through movement of the cam III, roller III and armIII, the tripping of the printing hammer III to impress the amountindicated by the printing wheels II upon paper disposed in the framesIII. The continued movement of the gear III and shaft III brings themutilated gear III into driving engagement with feeding roll III. Thismovement feeds paper through the printing frames II2, thereby issuing,

the printed portion and replenishing the frame.

with a new ticket portion. The ticket portion thus issued and bearingthe record of the amount dispensed may be severed from the strip ofpaper.

Th printing mechanism, of course, may include printing elements otherthan the wheels II to indicate the date, the loading station .from whichthe dispensing operation has taken placeand any other data that may bedesirable.

It is also possible to provide a second set of registering wheels andprinting wheels, similar to I2 and I4, to indicate and to print on theticket the total cost of the fluid delivered. These costindicating'wheels would be driven from shaft 55 through a variable-ratio gear box,the driving ratio being adjustable to accord with the unit price of thefluid being dispensed.

The driving movement of the motor I20 moves the cams I50 and I58 to theposition indicated in Fig. 3 whereupon the element I58 is urged inwardlyagainst the stem I55. The electro-magnet I having been shorted by theenergization of the motor I releases the button, thereby releasing theelement I51, so that the contact I55 is moved to the position shown inFig. 4. In this position the circuits of the system are deenergized, thecontact I50 which is now engaged by the contact I55 being connected to acircuit which includes the wire 220 connected to the open contacts 2I I.

In Fig. '1 is shown in longitudinal section one embodiment of theelectromagnetic grip I00 which is constructed to cooperate with shaft 20of the auto-stop register I0 to prevent rotation of this shaft andchange in the settin of the' auto-stop register after the element I80identifled with the selected loading station in a selected billingmachine is actuated.

The shaft 20 passes through bearings formed in the bosses 50I and 503provided respectively in the end closing plate 505 and in the end wall505 of the casing 501 of the device. In this em-' bodiment the casing501 is of cylindrical form with the end wall 505 integral therewith. Tothis casing the end closing plate 505 is fastened by screws 500 enteringthe periphery of this plate through the cylinder wall of casing 501.Within the inner bore of the casing 501 is a spool 5II fastened to thecasing by screws 5I2. This spool carries the coil 5I3 of a solenoid theterminals 5I5 of which pass out through the wall of the casing 501through insulating bushings5I5. The terminals 5I5 are connectedrespectively to ground and to the contact I05 as shown in Figs. 3 and3a.

In holes drilled in bosses 5I1 formed on the end plate 505 a pluralityof pins 5I0 are rigidly fastened and extend generally parallel to theaxis of the shaft 20. Preferably, these pins are formed of non-magneticmaterial. (lo-axially with-the shaft an armature 5I9 of annularment ofthe armature in the direction parallel to the axis of the shaft 25. Atthe right hand end of the armature in Fig. 7 the armature is providedwith teeth 52I adaptedto cooperate as a clutch with the teeth 523 of acooperating clutch member 525 fitted upon the shaft 28 and keyed theretoby the key 525. The clutch member 525 may be of cylindrical form and cupshaped to receive a compression spring 521 which bears against the endwall of the cup and against the end of the armature III to bias thisarmature toward the left in Fig. 5 to the position shown where the teeth52I and 522 are disengaged.

It will be noted that the armature III is of such length and is sopositioned relative to the central plane of the solenoid coil lll thatupon energization of this coil eflected by closing of the contact I55the armature 5I5 will be drawn toward the right substantially to aposition symmetrical with respect to the central plane of the solenoidcoil 5II. In such movement toward the right the teeth "I and 525 of theclutch members will be engaged with eachother. Since the casing 501 ofthe electromagnetic grip I00 is fixed against rotation, it will beapparent that upon energization of the solenoid 5|! the shaft 25 will beheld against rotation if operation thereof by the handle 25 fastenedthereto is attempted. Thus, when a selector element I of a given billingmachine with which the auto-stop I0 is associated is pressed to selectthe loading station and meter to be connected to the given billingmachine and its registers, the auto-stop having been previously set tothe amount to be dispensed, thereafter and until the auto-stop hasreturned to zero thereby releasing the actuated element the setting ofthe auto-stop may not be changed by the operationof the handle 25. Thedevice shown in Fig. 7 may be variously designed to cooperate with theauto-stop register and the means actuated by elements I00 to produce theresult of preventing change in the set ting of the auto-stop registerduring the operation thereof in a dispensing operation oi the apparatus.

From the foreg ng description it will be readilyapparent that thedispensing apparatus of this invention has particular utility foriuse inloading yards having a plurality of loading stations. It will also beapparent that many of the features of the invention are useful per seand with apparatus other than the dispensing sysbeing presettable for anamount to be dispensed,

means responsive to operation of the meter to effect actuation of saidregister, a valve to control the flow of fluid through said meter, meansinsuring closing of said valve precisely on completion of measurement ofthe last unit of the fluid to be dispensed, including a pair of elec- Atrical circuits for controlling actuation of said valve, one of saidcircuits being under the control of said register and the other of saidcircuits being under the control of said meter, means actuated by saidregister for inactivating said register controlled circuit in advance ofcompletion-of measurement of the last unit of fluid to be dispensedthrough said meter, and contacts in. said meter controlled circuitadapted to be actuated by said meter to inactivate said meter controlledcircuit on completion of measurement of said last unit of fluid.

2. Fluid dispensing apparatus comprising a presettable register, a fluidmeter,

time that said first circuit is in a deenergized state.

3. Fluid dispensing apparatus comprising a register, a fluid meter,means responsive to operation of said meter during the measurement of aunit of fluid thereby to eflect actuation of said register by anincrement of movement corresponding to one unit 01' measurement, meansincluding an electrically operated valve to control the dispensing offluid, first and second circuits to jointly control said valve, means inthe first circuit actuated by said meter at the completion of each unitmeasurement to deenergize said first circuit, means in said secondcircuit actuatable by said register to deenergize said second circuitwhen a predetermined count has been registered, and said valve beingmovable to closed position only when said second circuit is deenergizedat the same time that said first circuit is in a deenergized state.

4. Fluid dispensing apparatus comprising a presettable register, a fluidmeter, means includ ing a driving motor and a clutch to drive saidregister, a relay to operate said clutch to establish a driving relationbetween said motor and said register, means operated by said meter toenergize said relay during the measurement of a unit of fluid, anelectrically controlled valve for the fluid, 'a first circuit forcontrolling the valve and deenergizable by said meter only at thecompletion of each unit measurement, a second circuit for controllingsaid valve and deenergizable by said register only when a desired amountis registered thereon, and said valve being movable to closed positiononly when said second circuit is deenergized at the same time that saidfirst circuit is in a deenergized state.

5. In a fluid dispensing apparatus, a presettable register, a fluidmeter, a valve controlling flow of fluid through said meter, meanseifective when activated for holding said valve against movement toclosed position, means controlled by said register and means controlledby said meter each effective for activating said holding means duringthe metering operation, said register controlled means being renderedinactive in response to movement of said register to a predeterminedregistration, and said meter controlled means being momentarily renderedinactive during metering operation on completion of each incrementaloperation 01' said meter corresponding to a unit measurement thereby.

6. In a fluid dispensing apparatus comprising a register, a fluid meter,and a valve to control the flow of fluid through said meter; incombination, a motor for driving said register, a clutch operableintermittently to establish a driving connection between said motor andsaid register to actuate said register in step-by-step manner, each stepmovement of said register corresponding to a unit measurement by saidmeter and being timed to be concluded in advance of completion by saidmeter of the unit measurement 18 corresponding thereto, means responsiveto operation of said meter to actuate said clutch, means for holdingsaid valve in open position, means controlled by said meter for normallylocking said holding means against release during the meteringoperation, and means responsive to operation of said meter forinactivating said meter controlled means momentarily each time saidmeter completes measurement of a unit of the fluid being dispensed.

7. Fluid dispensing apparatus comprising a presettable register, a fluidmeter, means including a driving motor to drive said register, a relayto control said motor, means operated by said meter to energize saidrelay so as to drive said register intermittently in step-by-stepmanner, one step for each unit or fluid measured in said meter, anelectrically controlled valve for the fiuid to be passed through themeter, a first circuit for controlling said valve and deenergizable bysaid meter only at the completion of eachunlt measurement, a secondcircuit for controlling said valve and deenergizable by said registeronly when a desired amount has been registered thereon in saidstep-by-step manner, said valve being movable to closed position onlywhen said second circuit is in a deenergized state at the same time thatsaid first circuit is in a deenergized state.

8. Fluid dispensing apparatus according to claim 7 in which a time delayelement is connected to said relay to effect energization thereof for atime only sufiicient to register a com- 'plete unit in each step andthen to efi'ect deenergization thereof.

9. In a fluid dispensing apparatus comprising a register, a fluid meter,and a valve to control the flow of fluid through said meter, incombination, means for driving said register intermittently instep-by-step manner, each step movement of said register correspondingto a unit measurement by said meter and being timed to be' concluded notlater than completion by said meter of the unit measurementcorresponding thereto, means responsive to the operation of said meterfor controlling operation of said register driving means, means forholding said valve in open position, means controlled by said meter fornormally locking said holding means against release during the meteringoperation, and means responsive to operation of said meter forinactivating said meter controlled means momentarily each time saidmeter completes measurement of a unit of the fiuid being dispensed.

10. Fluid dispensingapparatus comprising a presettable register, a fluidmeter, means for driving said register intermittently in step-bystepmanner, one step for each unit of fluid measured by said meter, meansoperated by the meter for controlling operation of said register drivingmeans, a valve for controlling the flow of fluid through said meter,means activatable by said meter and operatively connected to said valveto control said valve and deactivatable by said meter only at thecompletion of each unit of measurement, means activatable by saidregister and operatively connected to said valve to control said valveand normally deactivatable by said register only when a desired amounthas been registered thereupon in step-by-step manner, said valve beingmovable to closed position only when said means activatable by saidregister is in a deactivated state at the same time 19 eaid'meaneactlvatabie by said meter is in a de- Pfening Sept. 6, 1932 Number 4 2Number Name Date Woolley Apr. 8, 1934 Julius et al. Sept. 17, 1935Troutman Aug. 4, 1938 Slye 6, 1939 Hicks Nov. 10, 1939 Brayer May10,1938 Hazard Aug. 30, 1940 Hazard Jan. 7, 1941 Carroll July 22, 1941 Bug:July 3, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain J1me 4. 1907Great Britain July 12, 1935

